MACAU (SE): The first public session for the Cause of Beatification and Canonisation of Salesian Father Gaetano Nicosia, was held on January 17 at the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, Ka Ho, Coloane, Macau. Bishop Stephen Lee presided, outlining the process towards Father Gaetano’s beatification, O’Clarim reported on January 23.
This event invited the faithful to submit information and testimonies to enrich understanding of Father Gaetano’s life and legacy.
After a request from the postulator general, Father Pierluigi Cameroni SDB, on 24 January 2024, and subsequent approval to transfer jurisdiction from Hong Kong to Macau—with agreement from neighbouring bishops and the Holy See’s Nihil Obstat on 21 May 2025—Bishop Lee issued an edict announcing the intention to open the Cause. The vice-postulator is Father Gabriel Cruz, SDB.
The edict invited information supporting or challenging the reputation for holiness of the Servant of God. Copies of the edict were also sent to the Diocese of Hong Kong, the Diocese of Catania and the Patriarchate of Lisbon, O’Clarim reported.
Bishop Lee officially announced the opening of the Cause for the Beatification and Canonisation of the Servant of God, Gaetano Nicosia on 16 July 2025.
Born on 3 April 1915 in San Giovanni la Punta, Archdiocese of Catania, Italy, Father Nicosia became a missionary to China in 1935 and professed as a Salesian in Hong Kong in 1937. Ordained in Macau in 1946, he dedicated his life over eight decades to educating youth and caring for the marginalised in Macau and Hong Kong.
From 1963 until he incurred a serious injury at the end of 2010, he ministered at the Hansenian Village near Ká-Hó, later widening his service to include the families of former patients both in Hong Kong and in Macau
In 2010, after his injury, Father Nicosia was transferred to Hong Kong, where the Little Sisters of the Poor cared for him at St Mary’s Home until his death on 6 November 2017 at age 102.
